


Breath of The Wild

by Evoxine



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-09 23:03:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8916532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evoxine/pseuds/Evoxine
Summary: The world is coming to an end, and Sehun seems to be the only one who can stop it.





	

It’s the year 2075, and the world has gone to shits. There’s no other way to put it, and there’s no point in sugarcoating things. Buildings are crumbling, streets are turning into streaks of rubble and burning concrete, and water is soon becoming a scarce resource. In fact, the only things that seem to be thriving are the rodent populations and the plethora of black markets.

Oh Sehun stands by his window, arms crossed tightly across his chest in a futile attempt to block out the chilly wind seeping into the room through cracks in the wall. The thin button-up he has on does nothing to provide warmth. As the clouds overhead are pushed aside by the wind, a sliver of sunlight filters through the smog. Sehun catches sight of his reflection in the grimy glass when light hits it, and the shine of his silver hair makes his empty stomach drop.

Turning away, Sehun yanks the curtains shut and shuffles into the kitchen. Along the way, he passes by a mirror in the hallway that he’s painted over in black. The empty kitchen provides little repose. There is, after all, no way to escape from oneself.

 

 

 

  
As far as he knows, Sehun is the last known Summoner alive. Physically characterised by bright silver hair and equally luminescent grey eyes, Summoners are meant to keep the world thriving. They’re meant to protect the humans from the Void, a rift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that constantly spews forth dark forces – entities that exist only to devour every inch of the earth. But when his mentor suddenly passed away last year, Sehun found himself without guidance. The worst part? He hadn’t even managed to trigger his powers yet.

At that point, there were only two other Summoners in the world. Their names were Camille and Erik, but Sehun lived too far away to be able to contact them. He was in the middle of saving money for a flight to the UK when he received news that they had both died to forces from the Void. That money is now locked away in a box underneath his bed.

Since the death of his mentor, there have been over two dozen cities across the world that have been all but wiped out. Once breathing life, these cities are now nothing short of decimated. The images of these cities covered in clouds of purple smoke and roaring flames are still firmly ingrained in his mind – he’d unplugged his television after two weeks of constant nightmares.

He remembers a period of time after his mentor’s death where he still had hope. He remembers pouring over old texts, flipping through dusty pages in hopes of finding some answers, some clues to help awaken his powers. But that clearly led to zero progress. Now, Sehun spends a good amount of his days thinking that the prophecies have grandly fucked up.

The worst part (pt. 2)? Whenever he ventures out into public, no one looks at him like he’s disappointed them, like he’s let them down, like he’s doomed them all to death. Instead, they look at him with pity. It’s as though they know he’s condemned to a fate worse than death, and they take great consolation in that.

 

 

 

  
The skies are relatively clear today; Sehun can hear children playing in the streets. The rumbling of his stomach prompts him to rise from his bed – there’s nothing but stale bread left in his fridge.

Even with sunglasses and the hood of his jumper pulled down over his forehead, everyone recognises him straightaway. The short walk to the convenience store is an agonizing one, one that he’s taken countless times but can never seem to get used to. He buys the necessities – eggs, milk, cereal, and fresh bread –, handing over his money with his head bowed.

“Have a good day,” the cashier says, and Sehun can feel the heat from her eyes on the crown of his head.

“Thanks,” he mumbles in reply. “You too.” He takes his change, picks up his purchases, and makes a beeline for home.

He’s two steps out of the store when he runs into someone else and almost loses his balance.

“Sorry,” the stranger wheezes. Sehun doesn’t look up to see who he’s run into. The steady hand on his arm is quite distracting. He hasn’t had physical contact with anyone in a while. Not even a brush of the shoulders, as people seem to be apprehensive to be within five feet of him and his stupid silver hair.

“It’s alright. Are you hurt?”

“No,” is the reply. “Are you?”

“I’m fine.” With an incline of the head, Sehun sidles past the stranger and continues walking home.

“Wait! Are you Oh Sehun? I need to speak with you.”

Sehun stops walking, but keeps his back to the stranger, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

“What about?”

“... People like you.”

Sehun feels the muscles in his back tense.

“Sorry. I have no wish to talk to anyone about any of that.”

Despite the repeated calling of his name, Sehun doesn’t stop a second time until he reaches home and engages all five of the locks on his door.

 

 

 

  
A persistent pounding on his door rouses Sehun from a restless nap. He peers through the peephole and sees a boy barely older than he is, hair shaved off, eyes concealed with shades, and rather full lips. There’s an odd sheen to the bare skin of his scalp.

“Who is it.”

“My name is Kim Jongin.”

Sehun instantly recognises the voice.

“You’re the one I ran into.”

“Yes.”

“You’re the one that wanted to talk to me.”

“Yes.”

“Go away, please.”

Sehun turns away from the door, but Kim Jongin knocks again.

“Look at me.”

Sehun pauses.

“What?”

“Look at me.”

Sehun, too curious for his own good, turns back towards the door and looks through the peephole once more. The shades have come off, and Sehun finds himself staring into a pair of bright, grey eyes. They remind him, terrifyingly, of his own.

“You’re a –”

“Yeah, I _really_ need to talk to you.”

Sehun unlocks his door and pulls it open.

Jongin’s eyes seem to gleam.

“Even if I wanted to, I cannot help you. I have no answers for you.”

Jongin stares at him. Sehun can’t seem to look away.

“You have to. We’re the only ones left.”

Scoffing, Sehun leans against the doorframe.

“See, a minute ago, I thought I was the only one left. _In the world_. That didn’t seem to do much in terms of compelling my powers to come forth, did it?”

Jongin falls silent. Sehun sighs.

“Where’d your hair go?”

“Shaved it off the second it started turning silver.”

“How did no one realise you’re a Summoner? What about your eyes?”

Jongin shrugs. “Wore shades the whole day. Told people my eyes are sensitive to light.”

There’s a minute of thick silence until Sehun breaks it.

“You should go home. Your parents will be worried.”

“My home is six hours away by bus. And my parents died when I was a child. I came here looking for you, and I’m not leaving without you.”

Sehun frowns. “ _I’m_ not leaving. And definitely not with a stranger.”

Crossing his arms, Jongin sticks a defiant foot in the door. “Well then, I’m not leaving either.”

 

 

 

  
Watching Jongin is like watching his old self, Sehun realises.

Jongin spends his days hunched over books, actual glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, fingers constantly thumbing at pages. When he’s not trying to gain some insights from his piles of books, he’s on the computer, typing and clicking away while the old machine tries its best to keep up.

Jongin seems almost certain that the answers are out there somewhere, and Sehun doesn’t have the heart to tell him that the answers he so desperately wants to find are nowhere to be found.

“When did you find out you were a Summoner?”

“My hair started changing four years ago. Before that, I always just thought my eyes were the byproduct of some cool, recessive genes. It wasn’t until I had a full head of silver hair that I realised people were pointing and staring at me when I was out and about in public. Then I shaved everything off, started wearing shades, and moved cities. I didn’t have anyone to help me with this Summoner thing, so I spent most of my time just ignoring it.”

Sehun simply nods and goes back to sipping at his black coffee.

“You?”

“I knew the second I was born. But my parents didn’t want me to be a Summoner. So they spent almost two decades trying to keep me from anything remotely related to the prophecies. The public had such high expectations of me, but I couldn’t meet them. By the time I found my mentor, it was too late. Even if he could’ve triggered my abilities, it wouldn’t have done anything – there weren’t enough of us to keep the world afloat.”

“We still have to try,” Jongin says softly, gaze lingering on Sehun’s face before he turns back towards his books. “Who else is going to to fight for the world if not us?”

Sehun sighs into his cracked mug.

 

 

 

  
Jongin’s hair grows back at an alarming rate.

It’s been a little over two months since Jongin’s unceremonious move into his shabby home, and Sehun thinks Jongin’s hair has grown faster than the piles of books leaning against his wall. Not to mention the fact that Jongin’s already attempted to cut his hair twice.

They’ve also developed a friendship. At least, Sehun thinks it’s a friendship. They’ve bonded over a similar taste in music, dance, and anime – although Jongin claims that he will never understand why Sehun insists on adding milk before cereal.

Sehun’s started working at the store for a little extra cash – two mouths cost more to feed than one –, and Jongin always greets him with a bright smile when he comes home. Sometimes, there’s even dinner on the table. Those days are also days where Jongin manages not to cause a mess in the already messy kitchen.

If they weren’t the only answer to the slowly disintegrating world, Sehun thinks living with Jongin would be quite enjoyable. Jongin is very affectionate, and Sehun is pretty sure he’s received more hugs from Jongin than from everyone else in his life combined. The fact that Jongin is quite pleasant to look at is a great bonus.

But time is slowly running out.

Jongin hasn’t found answers to any of his questions, and Sehun can see the frustration starting to set in.

“You could help, you know,” Jongin mutters one night, wincing as his spine pops.

“I’ve already done everything you’re doing. You know that. And you also know that I found exactly nothing. Why go through that again? Besides, no one else apart from you is expecting anything out of me. They don’t know you’re a Summoner. You can afford to live a relatively normal life if you wanted to. I still don’t understand why you’re so hellbent on saving the world.”

“It’s what we’re supposed to do,” Jongin says, but the furrow in his brow is a telltale sign of his unsurety.

“We never had a say in the matter though, did we? That’s just not fair.”

Standing, Sehun heads into his bedroom and closes the door.

“It’s just not fair.”

 

 

 

 

 

Sehun is reminded of this ugly fact once more when Jongin falls asleep on his lap two night after, silver hair tickling the side of his face as he breathes. Jongin is warm; a different kind of warmth compared to the one you get bundled up in a blanket. This warmth radiates from the inside.

Swallowing, Sehun glances down at the sleeping Summoner and runs hesitant fingers through his hair. In an ideal world, Sehun wouldn’t be afraid. In an ideal world, the concept of loss would seem horrifyingly trivial. But this isn’t an ideal world. Sehun is afraid of loss.

He’s afraid of losing someone who’s grown on him over the past weeks, who’s found a space in his still-empty-but-less-so heart, who’s the embodiment of a tendril of hope.

Sehun is afraid of losing Jongin to his incapabilities.

It’s just not fair.

 

 

 

  
Jongin, not actually asleep, delights in Sehun’s touch. He’s grown increasingly fond of the quiet, just-a-little-pessimistic Summoner, and sometimes when he’s doing his research, he finds himself wondering about what it would be like to kiss those (very) pink lips.

Jongin wants to make memories with him; he think they’ll be beautiful ones.

Things that are doomed always seems to be the most perfect.

 

 

 

  
Realistically, it’s just a matter of time before Jongin is faced with defeat. That day comes, a month and a half later, on the back of another fallen city. Sehun is the first to hear about it, as news of it’s demise hits news stations nationwide during his shift at the convenience store. Images of the city flicker across the screen of the small television in the corner of the shop – Sehun tries to ignore the stares given by the customers (and his boss) searing into his skin.

When he gets home three hours later, Jongin is still blissfully unaware. Sehun grimaces and breaks the news to him.

Sehun was expecting a muted response, a sigh of surrender, or perhaps just a few frustrated tears. What he did not expect, however, was sheer rage.

There are books being thrown at walls, and Sehun has to leap out of the way to avoid the remote flying at his head. Jongin launches into a tirade, and for the majority of it, Sehun stands with his back against the wall, eyes wide open, and Jongin’s words clashing about in his head.

The yelling goes on for a few minutes, and it’s not until Jongin’s got a finger pointed at him does Sehun actually register what is being said.

“You’re a Grade A Asshole, you know that? If you would’ve helped me out even once in the past few months –”

Jongin pauses to inhale. “We might have found an answer to our stagnant-fucking-powers and we might have been able to prevent that city from getting royally screwed up the ass.”

Sehun receives a shove to the chest, and he splutters when his head bounces off the wall behind him.

“But NO! Instead, you had to be a sullen, defeated, pathetic being that refuses to believe that an answer is out there. You choose not to find hope –”

“I never said I had no hope,” Sehun interrupts.

Jongin exhales heavily. “What?”

“I just never had enough hope.”

“That makes no fucking sense,” Jongin grumbles. His anger seems to have vanished almost instantly. “If you have even the slightest bit of hope, that’s still hope. And if you have hope, then what the hell is stopping you?”

“I’m scared of losing it.”

“We have nothing to lose! If we don’t try, we have _everything_ to lose. We’ll lose the whole world!”

Sehun bites down on his bottom lip hard enough to break skin.

“I could lose you. And based on how things are progressing, I just might.”

The sudden silence is overbearing, and Sehun wishes Jongin would go back to yelling once more.

“I don’t want to lose you, either. But we’re part of something that is bigger than you and me. We both know that. If you don’t want to lose me, you should be trying.”

Sehun can almost make out his own reflection in Jongin’s pupils – their face are uncomfortably close.

“Feelings are nothing but a hindrance, Sehun. Especially with the world in this state.” Jongin’s voice is sorrowful. “We should probably work on keeping emotions at bay.”

“We?”

“Like I said, I don’t want to lose you either.”

Before Sehun can respond, Jongin escapes to the bathroom. With his heart thudding in his ears, Sehun heads straight for the bathroom door.

“What exactly do you mean by that? What good is giving up my emotions going to do? If you are what I’m fighting for – and if you want me to fight for you – should I not be following my heart?”

Pounding on the door, Sehun continues with his rant. “If you have even the slightest feelings for me, you would open the damn door and confront them. Yeah, I may be one of the prophesied Summoners and all that bullshit, but I am also human. And I deserve to feel what any other human does. I’m not going to let you take away the chance of –”

The door swings open and Jongin slaps a hand over Sehun’s mouth.

“I don’t think I have ever heard you talk this much before,” he mumbles.

“I never had to talk this much before,” Sehun retorts, “I never cared enough.”

Rolling his eyes, Jongin reaches for Sehun’s hand and starts heading back towards the living room. They’ve barely made it two steps, however, when everything turns blindingly white.

 

 

 

  
When Jongin finally opens his eyes, the first thing he feels is a surge of burning pain from his chest to his extremities. The second thing he notices is the fact that all he sees is still white. He wants to call out for Sehun, but the only thing that comes out of his throat is a weak groan of pain.

The pain takes a few minutes to subside. Sehun is already on his feet by the time Jongin manages to sit upright and bring colour back into his vision.

“What –”

“Jongin,” Sehun whispers, eyes wide. “It worked.”

“What?”

“It worked. We activated the prophecies.”

“What?” Jongin can’t seem to say anything else.

When Sehun blows up his coffee table into a plume of green smoke with a single flick of his fingers, it finally dawns on Jongin.

“You mean –”

“I remember what my mentor said to me once. He said the prophecies come in pairs. I just thought he meant that two are birthed in the same year. I never realised that it actually means both prophesied Summoners have to be together.”

“But we’ve been living together for months. So why –”

“That’s not what I mean by ‘together’,” Sehun says.

“Oh.”

“Do you feel it? Your powers. It’s like flicking a switch. I know everything I am capable of, everything I can do. I can turn that skyscraper into dust with six hits. Not five, not seven. Six.” Sehun gazes out of his window in wonder.

Pushing the window open, Jongin slowly extends an arm. An orb the size of his head forms at the end of his fingertips, crackling with electricity. All it takes is will to send the orb flying across the street, disintegrating a crow into charred feathers along the way.

“Oh.” Jongin repeats.

“Look at your left hand,” he hears Sehun say.

He glances down and sees a long, thin blade growing out of his forearm. His hand is nowhere to be seen, but somehow, he can still feel.

“It’s like I’ve had these abilities my whole life,” Jongin says, stunned.

“We _have_ had these abilities our whole lives, we just never activated them,” Sehun replies, shooting six spheres into a mug resting on the dining table. It explodes into miniscule fragments.

“I’m scared, Sehun. The Void must be huge by now. I can’t even begin to imagine the number of –”

His words are cut off by an arm around his waist, and he finds his face smothered by Sehun’s chest.

“If we die, we die together doing the right thing.”

 

 

 

  
“I never thought we would end up like this,” Jongin admits. “When I decided to hunt you down and ask for your help, this wasn’t what I thought would happen.”

They’re walking down the street, flanked by a growing crowd of spectators. It’s all Jongin’s fault – he’s absentmindedly playing with his orbs, and word of the active Summoners is spreading through the town like wildfire.

Sehun, much more self-aware of his newfound powers and the chatter of the people surrounding them, keeps his hands in his pockets. He catches sight of his boss in the crowd and waves at him awkwardly.

“Um, I won’t be coming into work,” he calls. “I hope that’s alright.”

His boss just stares back at him, nodding once.

“I mean, I never thought I’d be living with you, let alone develop feelings for you.”

“I’m irresistable,” Sehun quips, “it’s understandable.”

Jongin scoffs, but a smile doesn’t leave his lips.

“So what is it that we’re looking for?”

“It’s a discreet everyday object that glows bright blue,” Jongin says. “If we touch it, it’s supposed to teleport us to the Void. Don’t touch the ones that are any other colour but blue, unless you know where they lead to. If I recall, and if the book is right, burgundy leads you to a small town in Russia.”

“That fire hydrant is blue.”

The crowd shuffles out of the way, allowing Sehun to gesture at the fire hydrant he’d noticed. Indeed, it is glowing a bright, luminescent blue.

Jongin raises his eyebrows.

“Yeah, that’s blue alright.”

They look at each other.

“Ready?”

Jongin extends his hand, and Sehun threads their fingers together.

“As I’ll ever be.”

Something yanks sharply on their navels, and everything goes black.

 

 

 

  
“You realise we’re not immortal, right?” Jongin breathes, a hand pressed against his pounding chest. “These things can easily kill us.”

They’re standing on the edge of a dilapidated city, most of its buildings destroyed by the Void. There are still a few inhabitants, however, which comes as a surprise. A few metres away lies the Void, a pulsating, purple fissure that’s almost a kilometre wide. It stretches farther than their eyes can see.

“Yeah. We’re not supposed to fight the entities,” Sehun says, “at least not until we weaken the Void. Well, that’s what my mentor said. And if I remember correctly, Camille died because she failed to weaken it before an entity got to her.”

Jongin gives Sehun’s hand a squeeze before he lets go.

“Promise me something? Promise me a happy life if we manage to pull this off.”

“I promise.”

“I want a dog,” Jongin says, “maybe two.”

“I will remember that,” Sehun replies. After a moment’s contemplation, he takes a step towards Jongin, leans in, and places a soft kiss on his cheek.

Then, with a smile of fear, determination, and a hint of hope, Sehun rises into the air. Jongin follows closely behind as they soar towards the Void.

 

 

 

  
They battle for what feels like days. Powers and abilities once unknown are now their primary source of strength, and they pummel the Void with everything they have to give.

The Void, almost ten kilometres long, starts shrinking lengthwise. But with every disappearing inch comes angrier entities, and before long, they find themselves having to fight the entities along with the Void.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jongin sees Sehun hurtling through the air, followed by a dozen explosions ending in green smoke.

“Sehun!” He yells, unable to get to Sehun’s side due to the presence of two entities a few feet away from him.

“I’m fine,” he hears, and glances over his shoulder to see Sehun back on his feet. There’s a dark red streak on the side of his face running down to his neck, and his once-silvery hair is now an ashen mess.

“You’re bleeding,” Jongin says, grunting as he blows one of the entities up with a plunge of his sword-arm to its heart.

“As are you,” Sehun points out, sending a plethora charged spheres into the mouth of the Void. Grabbing a nearby entity with magic, Sehun rudely shoves it back into the Void. It lets off a bloodcurdling shriek as it is reabsorbed into the mass, but Sehun blatantly ignores it.

“We have to keep going,” Sehun says. “Look, the sky is starting to clear.”

Jongin chances a look up at the sky – the pitch black clouds are slowly dissipating, and grey ones are taking over. If he squints, he thinks he can make out a sliver of blue sky.

They’re doing it. Slowly but surely.

 

 

 

  
It’s not until they feel raindrops on their faces do they realise that they’ve done it. It’s not until they hear cheers coming from the small, but growing, crowd by the city’s edge that they realised they’re still alive.

A little child runs across the barren land where the Void once stood, her malnourished body radiating excitement when she realises that she does not have to live in fear any longer. Jongin watches as her mother follows at a much slower pace. When she picks the little girl up and gives her a kiss to the forehead, Jongin smiles.

His entire body hurts, and his brain seems close to exploding, but he is happy. He has done his job, he has fulfilled his prophecy, and he has made up for all his past failures. When he looks over at Sehun and sees tears in his bloodshot eyes, Jongin knows that Sehun feels the same.

 

 

 

  
Cities are bustling with life. Sunlight is abundant, and so is laughter.

After the battle with the Void, Sehun and Jongin have chosen to travel. There is only a year left until the next two pairs of Summoners are born, and they want to make the most of their free time before mentoring duties set in. Sehun, making good on his promises, buys Jongin a puppy just a week after their successful battle. The dog accompanies them on their travels, and Jongin cannot be happier. People constantly approach them for hugs, autographs, and pictures, and they graciously oblige.

Sometimes, Sehun wakes up in the middle of the night still thinking that the Void is thriving, and a sleepy Jongin has to gently remind him that it’s all over. It might have taken them a while to step up to the plate, but it’s better late than never.

“What would I be without you?” Sehun mumbles, slowly rising out of the depths of a blissful, nightmare-free sleep. It’s a bright, Sunday morning, and Jongin is already getting breakfast ready.

“Miserable,” Jongin answers, grinning as he leans down to place a kiss on Sehun’s forehead. “Probably helpless, too.”

“You think too highly of yourself,” Sehun grumbles, cracking an eye open to see Jongin pouring orange juice into a mug shaped like a deer.

Laughing, Jongin pulls Sehun off the bed and into the washroom.

“Wash up and eat!”

 

 

 

  
“Hey, Jongin?”

Jongin looks up at him questioningly, a strip of bacon dangling from between his lips.

“I’m really glad that I had you by my side throughout everything. I’m really glad I still have you by my side. Thank you.”

Jongin gives him a wink and stuffs the rest of the bacon into his mouth.

“And Jongin? I love you.”

Jongin gestures at Sehun’s plate. He had written out ‘I Love You’ in maple syrup on top of Sehun’s pancakes. With a snort of laughter, Sehun cuts off a chunk and devours it. 

**Author's Note:**

> I had decided to scrap my original fic a few days before submissions were due, so please pardon me for the subpar work that this is. The original was much worse, and I didn't want to submit that at all. Also, I chose not to delve too much into details, instead focusing on the story as a whole. Perhaps in the future I will return to this universe?
> 
> [Click for Links!](https://bluedveins.wixsite.com/evoxine)


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